HASSELL is pleased to announce it has been awarded first prize in the Zhuhai Cross Gate CBD competition. The winning scheme included the landscape architecture for the Cross Gate CBD, an area of 94.65 hectares located between Macau and Hengqin Island in Southern China.

Zhuhai’s new waterfront development zone is planned to be the future – ‘Gateway to Southern China’ – an international business and recreational environment similar to Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district. The Cross Gate CBD includes an island with bridge connections to a coastal peninsula. It is surrounded by a high-quality waterfront environment; including a rare, native mangrove forest, all in close proximity to the city’s CBD.
The overall strategy for the open space planning within Zhuhai was to create an iconic environment that builds upon the site’s unique context, forming a CBD that looks outwardly to its waterfront and harbour. Active connections were proposed across the island, linking the business district to a variety of waterfront zones. The strategy for the waterfront itself was proposed as a single continuous landscape stretching around the island and peninsula. A central open space corridor forms the axial link between a mountain that lies directly south of the site, and the waterfront to the north. The corridor is also the connection between major public developments within the CBD, including a bridge, landmark tower, and cultural buildings that extend to the waterfront. A new park, located in the centre of the island and surrounded by tall buildings, will provide an accessible green space for office workers in the new financial district of Zhuhai CBD.